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Globalisation and its influence on ethical decision making in business : China and intellectual property rights

Neveling, Arno

2008-12

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Ethical decision making in business, the manifestation of business ethics in the
individual, is influenced and shaped by various factors, including the external
environment, organisational factors and society. In China business ethics, and
consequently ethical decision making has emerged and developed mainly as a
response to the economic reforms in response to globalisation.
Globalisation, a product of the interaction of political and predominantly economic
liberalisation, largely brought about by technological change, has become a
household word since the last decade of the twentieth century. It is hailed by its
advocates as a way to spread cosmopolitan values as well as better employment
conditions and standards of living. Its critics, however, see it as a new wave of
colonialism imposed by developed countries and multinational companies on poor
countries, a synonym to exploitation and impoverishment of both people and nature.
A contested issue on globalisation is concerned with its consequences as to the
convergence of societies toward a uniform pattern of economic, political, and even
cultural organisation, and thus to the formation of a global ethic.
A change in approach towards intellectual property and the trends observed in patent
applications indicate to what degree various countries have embraced the
opportunities presented by globalisation. China is a prime example of a country that
embraced the opportunities, and also made the required changes in policies and
behaviour.
Globalisation has changed the environment in which everyone is competing forever.
International institutions play a significant role, and being part of treaties is
paramount if countries want to play in the global market. Thus, globalisation changed
the external environment that has an important influence on ethical decision making
by individuals. These changes are followed by changes in countries' legal
environments. As a result the rules by which companies have to play are also
influenced, changing the way management should and eventually do behave, which
will ultimately change the work experience gained by an individual. A change in
individual factors will eventually change the ethical philosophy and the decision ideal
of an individual, which also have an impact on ethical decision making. The end
result is that globalisation has a profound influence on every factor that influence an
individual making ethical decisions. However, these changes can take very long to
start to manifest, a fact seen in the lag between policy changes and observing
tangible changes in approach to intellectual property rights, as observed in China.